Anyone ever been fingered by an airplane pacer and then ticketed on the ground? I hear they don't really do them much any more. The CHP used to rely heavily on this system of helicopters and small airplanes to monitor traffic, but these days aircraft enforcement has gone out of style. Budget cuts have reduced the number of CHP aircraft and total flying time etc. Also both the air and ground officers have to appear in court if you take the issue to court and it's harder for them to prove they have the right vehicle.

I have a detector in each of my vehicles and one in my Roadies. If you pay attention to them they can save you some money. $75 investment.

Ctkog wrote:
Anyone ever been fingered by an airplane pacer and then ticketed on the ground? I hear they don't really do them much any more. The CHP used to rely heavily on this system of helicopters and small airplanes to monitor traffic, but these days aircraft enforcement has gone out of style. Budget cuts have reduced the number of CHP aircraft and total flying time etc. Also both the air and ground officers have to appear in court if you take the issue to court and it's harder for them to prove they have the right vehicle.

City of Toledo used to do that right at the Michigan border on I-75. Its been a long time since I’ve even heard of it though.

I remember seeing it happen one time. Must’ve been 15 police cars stacked up on the first on ramp. They’d get you before you could ever see them. It was pandemonium, lol. I’m sure there wasn’t any other crimes going on anywhere in the city at the time also

Save your money!!! As a retired LEO I used to run radar with an unmarked, unremarkable car(1994 Pontiac Grand Prix, evil little green car) and since my radar had an on/off setting I would not turn it on until I had a clear visual on the vehicle I was clocking. I followed some guy for about 15 miles one night that I knew had a radar detector in his car, I could see it light up every time I turned on my radar. I keep turning it on and off every few minutes and when I did he would have to reach up and reset it to keep it from going off. I was bored and thought this was great fun. I have learned the only way to avoid a ticket is to not speed. In my state radar detectors are illegal in commercial vehicles and my department had a radar detector/detector that would show that a commercial vehicle had a radar detector. Under Federal Interstate Commerce Commission regulations they are contraband in all 50 states and are subject to confiscation. I my have gotten about 50 of them before I retired, great fun!!

In San Antonio, the PD uses both standard and Laser radar. When using the radar, they set up traps. On one of the highways that I travel is hwy 281. They set the Gun up on a overpass behind a sign. You have no idea they are there, then just an exit down is a line of cops waiting!
I have gotten 2 speeding tickets in my 40 plus years of driving. The first the cop follow clocked me and the 2nd was by standard radar.
To avoid getting caught, I always watch the cars in front of me. If they slam on the brakes, a cop is near!
My brother once got a ticket for hitting the brakes once he passed a cop. Hitting the brakes after passing is just telling the cop to stop me and give me a ticket!

I remember VASCAR back in the day. Never got popped by it, just remember the signs.

Ctkog wrote:
Anyone ever been fingered by an airplane pacer and then ticketed on the ground? I hear they don't really do them much any more. The CHP used to rely heavily on this system of helicopters and small airplanes to monitor traffic, but these days aircraft enforcement has gone out of style. Budget cuts have reduced the number of CHP aircraft and total flying time etc. Also both the air and ground officers have to appear in court if you take the issue to court and it's harder for them to prove they have the right vehicle.

Interesting that you bring this up.

The LAST TICKET that I got was while traveling back into California after I'd moved to Oregon around ten years ago. I was pulling my trailer behind my pickup truck. In California ALL TRAILERS have to be pulled at 55 MPH on the freeways, despite posted 70 MPH speeds. Mine was empty, I was heading down to move stuff from my warehouse.

In the mountains I was running around the posted 70 MPH speed limit while keeping my eyes open. Once I got down onto the flats I slowed to 60 MPH or less, knowing that it was a more heavily enforced area. I saw a CHP pass on the other side of the freeway, far across a treed medium. I kept my eyes in my mirrors.

Sure enough, there came a trooper coming up behind me. My speed was 60 MPH. To my surprise he pulled me over.

He told me he was pulling me over for doing 72 MPH. I looked at him with SHOCK and he obviously knew that I knew that in no way had he clocked me that fast. He then pointed up in the air and said a plane had clocked me 12-15 miles back up the road, which would have been accurate.

I asked him who was flying that day, whether it was John up in the plane. He stuttered and stated that he wasn't sure. What he didn't know was that two of my closest friends were in air ops, one a plane pilot and the other a helicopter pilot who also headed the division.

My truck sent up a flag because California hadn't sent me my title yet despite the fact that it had been nearly a year since I bought the truck (it WAS insured). At that time California was virtually bankrupt so they were writing tickets for everything they could muster up. So I was ticketed for that, the speeding, tinted windows, and missing a front license plate. I couldn't change my plate without a title and tinted windows were legal in Oregon. He didn't believe I lived in Oregon because I hadn't switched my driver's license over yet LOL.

On the ticket he wrote RADAR. I told him that he didn't get me on radar, that it was by plane. I'd had law enforcement in college and knew that was BS. He had no response and just asked me to sign the ticket. He was obviously trying to avoid having to drag both of them into court if I contested the ticket. To this day I wish I'd have crossed out the word RADAR on the ticket. Today I would have. One more reason that you should ALWAYS pull out your phone and video your encounters with law enforcement.

My air ops buddy said there was no such thing as radar in a plane. The ticket was $475 or more, I can't recall now. I had the plate and tinted windows signed off in Oregon and that reduced the fine to about $275 if I recall correctly. I also wrote a letter to the judge (an option offered in Cali) because I sure as hell wasn't going to drive to California to go to court. My appeal was denied without explanation other than the fees being reduced for the plate and tint. Apparently the CHP officer lied about getting me on radar and that truly pissed me off. I'm certain that the pilot never weighed in.

I'd called my friend after I'd gotten home the next day and he said it was too late to pull the citation or he would have spoken to his guys to see who was flying that day but also that the motor guys weren't part of his division.

After being ticketed, though I'd planned on keeping my warehouse down there ad-infinitum, I immediately closed it down and got the hell out of California forever. I refused to give California any more of my business and hate even driving through today. I literally hate that state, other than the beauty and natural resources. The business climate, politics, regulations, and enforcement are despicable. I'd NEVER go back to live there again, and I always lived in the rural areas, nearly 20 years in all.

Did I deserve that ticket? Yes, for speeding in the mountains, but only because of the trailer. I was 2 MPH over the posted speed limit other than the EMPTY utility trailer. That 55 MPH trailer law is one of the most pathetic in the nation. It's a massive revenue generator for California.

The air ops division up north where I lived had a lot of political clout and I'd be shocked if they were no longer in traffic enforcement. They also did a lot of rescue and emergency victim transport so they were multi use.

Did I mention that I HATE California? I do. Well deserved, and especially with what they've done to violate citizen's gun rights. When I have to head down there it's such a relief to see that sign, 'Welcome to Nevada', on the way back home again.

End of rant...

MidnightRide wrote:
Ctkog wrote:
Anyone ever been fingered by an airplane pacer and then ticketed on the ground? I hear they don't really do them much any more. The CHP used to rely heavily on this system of helicopters and small airplanes to monitor traffic, but these days aircraft enforcement has gone out of style. Budget cuts have reduced the number of CHP aircraft and total flying time etc. Also both the air and ground officers have to appear in court if you take the issue to court and it's harder for them to prove they have the right vehicle.

Interesting that you bring this up.

The LAST TICKET that I got was while traveling back into California after I'd moved to Oregon around ten years ago. I was pulling my trailer behind my pickup truck. In California ALL TRAILERS have to be pulled at 55 MPH on the freeways, despite posted 70 MPH speeds. Mine was empty, I was heading down to move stuff from my warehouse.

In the mountains I was running around the posted 70 MPH speed limit while keeping my eyes open. Once I got down onto the flats I slowed to 60 MPH or less, knowing that it was a more heavily enforced area. I saw a CHP pass on the other side of the freeway, far across a treed medium. I kept my eyes in my mirrors.

Sure enough, there came a trooper coming up behind me. My speed was 60 MPH. To my surprise he pulled me over.

He told me he was pulling me over for doing 72 MPH. I looked at him with SHOCK and he obviously knew that I knew that in no way had he clocked me that fast. He then pointed up in the air and said a plane had clocked me 12-15 miles back up the road, which would have been accurate.

I asked him who was flying that day, whether it was John up in the plane. He stuttered and stated that he wasn't sure. What he didn't know was that two of my closest friends were in air ops, one a plane pilot and the other a helicopter pilot who also headed the division.

My truck sent up a flag because California hadn't sent me my title yet despite the fact that it had been nearly a year since I bought the truck (it WAS insured). At that time California was virtually bankrupt so they were writing tickets for everything they could muster up. So I was ticketed for that, the speeding, tinted windows, and missing a front license plate. I couldn't change my plate without a title and tinted windows were legal in Oregon. He didn't believe I lived in Oregon because I hadn't switched my driver's license over yet LOL.

On the ticket he wrote RADAR. I told him that he didn't get me on radar, that it was by plane. I'd had law enforcement in college and knew that was BS. He had no response and just asked me to sign the ticket. He was obviously trying to avoid having to drag both of them into court if I contested the ticket. To this day I wish I'd have crossed out the word RADAR on the ticket. Today I would have. One more reason that you should ALWAYS pull out your phone and video your encounters with law enforcement.

My air ops buddy said there was no such thing as radar in a plane. The ticket was $475 or more, I can't recall now. I had the plate and tinted windows signed off in Oregon and that reduced the fine to about $275 if I recall correctly. I also wrote a letter to the judge (an option offered in Cali) because I sure as hell wasn't going to drive to California to go to court. My appeal was denied without explanation other than the fees being reduced for the plate and tint. Apparently the CHP officer lied about getting me on radar and that truly pissed me off. I'm certain that the pilot never weighed in.

I'd called my friend after I'd gotten home the next day and he said it was too late to pull the citation or he would have spoken to his guys to see who was flying that day but also that the motor guys weren't part of his division.

After being ticketed, though I'd planned on keeping my warehouse down there ad-infinitum, I immediately closed it down and got the hell out of California forever. I refused to give California any more of my business and hate even driving through today. I literally hate that state, other than the beauty and natural resources. The business climate, politics, regulations, and enforcement are despicable. I'd NEVER go back to live there again, and I always lived in the rural areas, nearly 20 years in all.

Did I deserve that ticket? Yes, for speeding in the mountains, but only because of the trailer. I was 2 MPH over the posted speed limit other than the EMPTY utility trailer. That 55 MPH trailer law is one of the most pathetic in the nation. It's a massive revenue generator for California.

The air ops division up north where I lived had a lot of political clout and I'd be shocked if they were no longer in traffic enforcement. They also did a lot of rescue and emergency victim transport so they were multi use.

Did I mention that I HATE California? I do. Well deserved, and especially with what they've done to violate citizen's gun rights. When I have to head down there it's such a relief to see that sign, 'Welcome to Nevada', on the way back home again.

End of rant...

Oh, and getting that title from California was another fiasco.

Before moving to Oregon I bought the truck from a guy who lived two hours south of me. I drove down with my wife to pick it up. The plates were expired, which I knew in advance but didn't care about since I knew Oregon wouldn't care. But not until I got there did the guy tell me that he couldn't find the title, that he was the original owner of the truck and thought it was at his mother's house a few more hours south but if not he'd get me a duplicate.

I got all of this in writing and the registration showed no liens on the vehicle. I knew better but wanted to trust the guy. I should have withheld $500 until he got me the title, though he probably wouldn't have gone for it.

Weeks passed and I was never mailed the promised title and when I called him he said his mother couldn't find it. I was now living in Oregon. I called California DMV and explained. They said to go online, fill out some forms, attach a letter and the Bill of Sale, and attach a check for duplicate title.

Another month passed and I heard nothing from California. I called and called with no results. Never received any type of response in the mail. Nothing. Check was never cashed.

So on a trip to Texas I stopped in at a California DMV to get it resolved. They told me there were $175 in registration fees owed by the prior owner which I'd have to pay to get a new title. I refused.

I called and threatened to sue the guy I bought it from and he again promised to find and send the title.

Never did.

After I got the ticket from the CHP I once again called the DMV, but at that point I got some good news which truly made me laugh. The State of California had levied the guy's wages for the back fees on the registration and it was now CURRENT!! All I had to do was go into any DMV and pay the $15 title fee. But I HAD TO do that so I could get a title and replacement license plate. No way was I going to try to mail it all in again, nor did I have time to wait.

So on CHRISTMAS EVE, because of the deadline to contest the traffic ticket, I had to drive hours to the nearest California DMV to get a new plate. I paid them $15 and they handed me plates and a new registration with my OREGON address. Oregon then signed off the plates and tinted windows for the ticket mentioned in the earlier post and I was able to mail in my protest.

So glad to not be living there any longer.

Wow man, that’s whacked out. I’m happy I live in a place that isn’t so stupid also. I mean, we have our share of ridiculousness here but not like that.

I remember a few years ago On my way to Laconia NH bike week I first ran up on sign set on the road side that said "watch your speed state police patrolling". Sure enough about a mile up the road there sat a NH state trooper with radar. Luckily I heeded to the warning sign. About 10 miles further up the road there was another sign and once again another trooper car parked along side the road. I noticed though this time the car was empty. All along that ride that day it was the same thing some had troopers in the car some didn't. I thought it was a great way for the state to keep us at the speed limit without breaking the budget on over time for troopers. Some times you pass two or three that were empty but you never knew when you were going to find one occupied. Smart.